Pros

The company strongly encourages work and life balance. Everyone respects eachother in the company. It has a great culture in place. I would recommend this company for others.

Cons

Depending on the site you work for, it may not be very attractive.

Advice to Senior Management

Improve some of the cities the company is located in to better attract more Y generations.

Pros

Stability: They offered a pension which I think is no longer offered to new employees. You could be pretty sure that you would have a job with the company, or if you were let go, you would be given a fair warning and severance to help you land on your feet. There are relatively few levels of management from individual contributors to CEOs, this means that individual contributors do not feel lost at the bottom of a very large pyramid.

Cons

Stability: People seem to stay in the same job in the same field for a long time. There are relatively few levels of management from individual contributors to CEOs, thus not a lot of opportunity to rise through those ranks. Not a cutting edge company in many fields, they are focused on being fast followers of technology trends. Their key advantage is efficiency in production, not innovation. The CEO has made statements about changing this, but change comes slow to a company like Dow.

Advice to Senior Management

The management at Dow knows exactly what they need to do to run a company like this. It just is what it is. That will appeal to some people and not to others.

Pros

Commitment to improve EHS performance. High ethical standards. Compensation seems to be strong in the industry. A lot of ways to direct a career due to large scope and scale of businesses.

Cons

There are some geographical limitations and need to be where the facilities are for most potential career growth (MI, TX, PA), otherwise need to relocate for advancement. Going through a lot of change due to ROH acquisition leads to ambiguity and lack of direction from Sr. Management.

Advice to Senior Management

Don't forget the little people as the integration unfolds. Commmunication on high level objectives is critical for success at the day to day level

Pros

Not a bad place to work
Compensation is pretty decent
Nice facilities to work in at corporate headquarters
Small town feel of Midland is good for families

Cons

There are many areas for improvement in the employee relations aspect. At times it feels as if you are just an employee and that they're just trying to take as much from you as they can but such is the nature of the business environment

Advice to Senior Management

Dow management needs to develop the trust that is needed between employees and management. This is critical to the employee's buying into changes that management tries to implement.

Pros

job is challenging and rewarding
you have the opportunity to learn and grow
great people and you can have fun while you work

Cons

at times too focussed on work processes
at times micromanages costs-- ie travel
having so many years of cost cutting is not fun

Advice to Senior Management

complete transformation as fast as possible if we dont start growing soon and continuously cut costs we will start to lose more folks,reinstate raises, make promotions more meaningful, dont micromange costs

Pros

Good benefits and salary. Excellent company stability and future.

Cons

No employee accountability towards production. Employees have become lax towards production numbers and quality.

Advice to Senior Management

Hire people who want to put effort into their work and eliminate people who are there to do only the minimum.

Pros

Well structured company with good benefits. One of the safest in the industry.

Cons

Old company with too many rules and policies that sometimes hinder progress.

Advice to Senior Management

Don't spend money you don't have, then lay off 15% of your employees because you got to far in debt when a business deal went sour.

Pros

Truly global company with strong diversified product line. Strong global systems and networking capabilities. The "get fit / stay fit, change the rules, change the game" strategy was an excellent beakon during very difficult times.

Cons

Far too much politics. Position power and fear is the standard management style. Leadership change usually means regime change. It is not what you know, but who you know.

Advice to Senior Management

Try to uncover what made Dow Chemical such a great company in the early years and drive the company back to the basics. Need management overall.

Pros

The level of autonomy given to junior-level employees is very attractive. The training and development opportunities abound and compensation is very competitive. The people are what make the company great. High quality all around

Cons

Headquarters location makes retaining top talent difficult. Industry cycles and feedstock costs make the Dow's continued prosperity questionable. Diverse and progressive, but a bit too paternal for the 21st century.

Advice to Senior Management

Continue to seek out experienced hire to help transform your businesses. Even in tough times, try to be as transparent and frank with employees as you are in good times. Top quality leadership - rivals corporate America's best.

Pros

They have a very large talent pool. Many of the employees are willing to bestow there knowledge upon you wihtout hesitation.

Cons

Having to work with dangerous chemicals. It is sometimes hard to get things done wiht all of the levels of management.

Advice to Senior Management

Help employees develop into their career and let them know when they are doing a good job and also when they are not doing a good job.